From Jeff Amechi Agbodo,
Onitsha

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has condemned the statement credited to Alhaji Tanko Yakassai that the Biafra agitation was annoying and the oil in Biafraland does not belong to the indigenous people of the land.
The Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB Mr. Emma Powerful while reacting to the interview by Alhaji Tanko Yakassai published in some newspapers said that it was irritating that an elder statesman like Yakassai does not know the history of Nigeria and why Biafra must leave Nigeria without leaving any of her clan or tribe behind.
Powerful said that Yakassai described Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB and his supporters as irritants and annoying the government and other people, saying that if Biafra had succeeded between 1967 and 1970 Niger Delta people would have been worse off than what it is today.
Reacting to Yakassai’s claim where he described Britain as the instrument God used to create Nigeria in 1914, Powerful said, “What we in IPOB are left pondering is: does it mean Nigeria and her collection of often inadequately prepared, poorly lettered people and public servants are so backward that they have not read nor heard of the very first article in the declaration that set up the United Nations in 1948?”
“Are these Nigerians such as Tanko Yakassai so ignorant that they are oblivious of the existence of another UN document entitled “United Nations Charter on the Rights of Indigenous People” which Nigeria domesticated into her laws through the “African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights”?
“Our question again is: are those elders in the north like Alhaji Yakassai not seeing the hand writing that Biafrans are going? How can somebody like Alhaji Yakassai not even remember international treaties his British created country called Nigeria put into their domestic law? The right to self determination is a universal law which millions of self-styled intellectuals in Nigeria have not bothered for one day to research on and find out what that law means.”
“What IPOB under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is doing is completely legal and backed 100% by Nigerian law. The fact that Buhari decided to launch what can be described as malicious persecution/prosecution of Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB does not make it illegal. Now the Nigeria Federal High court in Abuja on 6th February, 2017 declared IPOB a legal organization.”
Powerful continues: “However, we are aware that the man in question, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai is perhaps misinformed or clueless about the situation on the ground concerning the moves going on towards the restoration of Biafra. He and his fellow Nigerians must know that IPOB is unstoppable because we are willing and will continue to die for Biafra until Biafra is restored”.
“It is pathetic that this Alhaji Tanko Yakassai did not see anything wrong with the amorphous geographical expression called Nigeria. The late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe allowed himself to be tricked and used by the then British government to keep this vacuum named Nigeria by Flora Shaw”.
“It is unfortunate that an elderly man like Alhaji Tanko Yakassai cannot explain the history for the young ones to be acquainted with, but rather deceive the gullible. Your divide and rule tactics on the people of Biafra has come and gone and no one can deceive the people with one value system, culture, tradition and religion again”.
“We reiterate again that no negotiation of any sorts unless the government releases our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other members detained illegally in all the prisons and security cells across the country”.
“We want to use this opportunity to let Alhaji Tanko Yakassai and his cohorts know that we are not seceding from Nigerian rather we are restoring the ancient nation called Biafra which God (Almighty Chukwu Okike Abiama) has ordained”.
“We can still do business and interact as neighbours when Biafra is restored in no distant future”.
“He and his fellow politicians in Nigeria cannot stop the restoration of Biafra. Our parents were not born Nigerians for the information of this politician and others, therefore we cannot secede from something we were not part of”.
“Biafra existed before Nigeria in 1914, Frederic Luggard created Nigeria and as with every man made product it has an expiry date and must come to an end, while Biafra was created by God Almighty (Chukwu Okike Abiama).
Alhaji  Yakssai should know that what IPOB is doing is beyond the powers of man because it has been predicted over 400 years ago” Powerful stated.